Apnea is a condition occurring in some newborn infants in which breathing ceases unexpectedly, as though the baby had forgotten to breathe. If apnea is detected in time, breathing can normally be restored by suitable stimuli. In hospital nurseries it is desirable to have automatic apnea alarm devices.
Some prior alarm devices of this class sense respiration by means of electrodes on the baby's skin, or sensors taped on the nose to sense air flow. Ferris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,799, shows a mattress equipped with resistance strain gages; U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,438 to Lewin shows a compartmented air mattress with thermistor anemometer means to sense differential air flow between compartments.
Electrodes or other elements attached to the skin are uncomfortable and subject to being dislodged. Special mattresses may be difficult to clean. Pressurized air mattresses may leak air. The functioning of special instrumented mattresses or pads as respiration sensors is affected by the resilience of the underlying surface.
It is desirable to provide an instrumented apnea-detecting infant bed as a complete structure with a substantially stiff base portion, without wiring or the like to the infant, not dependent on the retention of internal air pressure, and with a top removable for cleaning and sterilization.